Black Shack Alley

I enjoyed this week’s reading of Black Shack Alley. I found it fairly easy to follow along yet it was still filled with intricate descriptions and exciting moments.

One thing I really liked was how the book set a tone of childhood and youthfulness. I got a good sense of what life is like in Shack Alley for the kids. I found they adventures and situations they got themself in were entertaining and perfectly encapsulated the adolescence and exploration of childhood. If I compare my childhood to the kids in Shack Alley it is obviously quite different but I could still connect to the spirit of childhood that the book created. I think what the book also highlighted the transition from fooling around with friends to starting to work and bearing duties leaving less time to hang out with friends.

“But something remained irreparable—we could hardly play; we no
longer had time to play” (p. 44)

This reminds me of the other books we have read on childhood and growing up like mad toy where Silvio shifts from causing trouble with his friends to entering adulthood and responsibility.

Another quote I found interesting was “Did we not represent, our parents and ourselves, in our own eyes, a beginning and an end (p. 46)? I interpret this quote to be how as we grow up, we begin to see our parents in ourselves. We begin to follow in their footsteps. Our parents can be seen as kind of a beginning to our lives to which us as individuals, finish our own story.

This book also explored the themes of class and colonialism as we got a glimpse into the struggle and deprivation of life in Shack Alley. At one point Mr.Medouze explains school to José and how school is for intelligent kids. He also says to go to school you must be properly dressed and speak French. Colonialism forced a European way of education which makes it not only inaccessible for most but also strips the culture of the communities that existed before. What I thought was an impactful decision in this book about race and colonialism was to focus entirely on the oppressed rather than the relationship between oppressor and oppressed. We really get a look into the struggle and poverty. but also get to experience the beauty, joy, intricacy, and diversity of the culture and community of Shack Alley.

My question for discussion is; In what ways were the themes of childhood and the theme of class issues and poverty intertwined? How can you relate to José and how do you differ from him?